Who: Theseus and AmphitriteWhat: Maybe better luck with Poseidons other halfWhen:Where: New York HarborWarnings: Hard to say

Theseus sucked on the flask in his hand. At least with every failure he had a strong hit of alcohol to follow, so it numbed the sting. His parenting skills were very quickly slipping down the drain (which had never been his shining talent). He hadn't really had the best example to go on. Between the cold weather and his broken promises, Theseus was spiraling and contemplating if he should ditch this city....

He had before. Every time he left he managed to find his way back. He just seemed more capable of stumbling on his feet then actually able to stand tall. He was playing the heroes game, but had no one on his side, and he hadn't bothered to see Ariadne in months. He seemed always more able to steer in the wrong direction than in the right one. He was messing with Sins again, failing his daughter and had nothing to stand on.

Amphitrite, on the other hand, was actually having a rather lovely day. Despite the fact that it was still chilly, she was down at the Harbor, watching the waves roll in. It centered her in the way that nothing else could, and she looked for that small measure of peace in any way she could.

Down the pier, she could feel the diluted presence that usually signaled a demigod of some sort, but for once, that fact didn't make her angry or tense. She was pretty content to live and let live, at this point.

Theseus hung on to his bottle , feeling the presence of someone like him but not really caring to reach out. He hugged his flask, waving it around over the side of he pier. He just hoped it wasn't someonoe looking for a fight because he didn't have it in him.

Amphitrite looked over at him, one eyebrow raised in slight surprise. She got up from her perch, making her way over to Theseus. Strong fingers wrapped themselves in the collar of his coat, dragging him back slightly from the edge. "If you fell in, I'm not so sure your father would come and save you," she said, sighing.

"I think I've gone from favored to most disappointing." He took another swig from his flask. "He'd drown me himself If he could." Theseus was tired of trying to weather Poseidon's rage. They were pawns in his way If they didnt do as he wanted. "it's just another failure under my belt." Theseus was starting to think his days of bring respected and adored were long over. He couldn't even do a simple task for his daughter. He was an even bigger disappointment to himself. He was dejected.

"Welcome to the life of a child of Poseidon," she told him, drier than any desert. "He's fickle as the sea itself, would you expect anything less?" She sat down next to him, tucking her legs neatly under herself. "Though I have to admit, your meteoric rise is eclipsed only by your fall. Usually it takes him twice as long to reject someone so harshly."

"While I know he and his siblings are their own brand of crazy, forgive me If Ive never been on this side of his hate. Its nor very pleasant...." and Theseus was tired. "I'm not soooooo willing to just be a lap dog fetching his errands when I have world of problems to mess with that dont involve being a mindless servant. I shouldn't have to be..." He got jerked around enough.

Amphitrite plucked the flask from his fingers and took a swig, relishing in the warmth that started to settle into her core. "You're talking to someone who's been on the receiving end of his rage for months," she said wryly. "So you'll have to forgive me if I'm not going to pat your head and tell you it's going to be OK. Personally, I've long been an advocate for just ignoring him and letting him stew in his own misery. Gods know he deserves it."

"I don't think his children have the same luxury in ignoring him. You have some leeway. I'm going to end up in the bottom of the Hudson soon and now is the worst time for me to die." He had to dutifully fulfill his promise to Zoe or he'd lose her forever. She didn't have the same lifespan, so time was of the essence.

"One could make the argument that there's really no ideal time to die," she countered. "Also that I have even less leeway, because he expects me to be his perfect little wife; to just shut up and take whatever he wants to dish out. Fuck him, I'm not going to do any such thing. And you shouldn't either. Just pretend he doesn't exist. All I hear is a lot of hot air when he talks, anyway."

Theseus leaned against the railing, looking out at the ocean ahead of them. He would always want to keep moving. His eyes lit up watching the water calmly ripple against the wind. It was the calmest he'd seen it in some time, and maybe it had something to do with the sea queen. "My one problem isn't just me anymore..." He hung his head, not believing he was actually getting into this with her. Maybe he was just desperate. "I have more to lose against his wrath if he decides I've pissed him off."

Amphitrite looked out at the calm waters, smiling faintly at the sight of it. "Mmm," she hummed, noncommittally. "Don't we all. That's why I've always found it better to not engage. The thing is, you have to decide what's more important. Do you go against him? Or do you protect whatever it is that's important to you?"

Theseus kept his gaze down on the water, his hands griping the rail. "I'm just scared to get so close and have anyone destroy someone I can't protect. Then I'm back to where I started. It's easier to feel nothing." That's something Amphitrite would never hear from Poseidon....that defeat, that despiration, the admittance of his cowardice. This was something the sea queen could completely twist in her favor. Theseus wasn't hers, he was her husband's bastard. She could use it to goad Poseidon, but he really hoped she wouldnt.

Amphitrite hesitated, then laid one hand gently on his shoulder. She knew that Poseidon had the tendency to destroy everything he touched if left unchecked, and that could be devastating to those who hadn't gotten used to being around him. True, he wasn't her child. But given the choice between the husband she wanted to drown, and the man sitting in front of her, well...there really was no choice. And sometimes being maternal meant dishing out some tough love.

"It's easier, that's true," she agreed. "It's also the less dignified way out. You might almost call it a cop out. We retreat within ourselves to protect ourselves, but there comes a time when you have to raise your head, straighten your spine, and face the challenge head on. All storms eventually blow themselves out, we know this to be true better than anyone."

There were few in Theseus' favor these days, he'd painted a ragged trail and left some unturned stones behind him. It was a painfully slow process trying to rebuild things to something he could be proud of, and with the right people on his side maybe he could be someone to look up to again instead of just the coward that the world wanted him to be. There was depth there that Poseidon could be envious of....because in that moment Amphitrite had pity on him (even in the smallest measure) and Theseus by gods was going to take it.

"I'm not my father, but I guess I've been living under his shadow now for some time." Theseus had a spine, just few actually believed it strong and unbreakable. He always ran before proving anything and he just had a spine made of jelly.

"He has that effect on people," she said, sighing heavily. "But then again, he never expects anyone to stand up to him. He thinks he'll keep people in fear by being a bully and a blowhard. That's one of the many reasons I'm not with him, I refused to take it anymore."

She shrugged, stealing the nearly-empty flask again. "But in the end, the one who has to make the choice is you. Is whatever, or whoever, you're protecting worth it? Can you take a black eye or a busted knee, if it means they'll be safe?"

"Of course they're worth it..." he sighed keeping his blue eyes glued to the calm sea. "I've just always bailed before things got so personal. I've also never had a reason to really want to be a father before, so I'm in uncharted territory. I do know I don't want her destroyed because of some raging lunatic." Theseus was likely to end up one of Poseidon's pawns again to use when he saw fit, he just felt his things deserved protection, what little he had anymore. Theseus hadn't been the king of some land or grounded himself anywhere this long. He was making commitments without realizing it. It was a good thing, at least that's what Ariadne had told him. "I guess two black eyes and looking like death walking is quite minor in comparison..."

"That does sound like him," she agreed. "So what you need to do, then, is show her, whoever she is, that she's worth being a father to. Because if you keep bailing, you'll end up just like him. You're right, two black eyes is nothing for your child. I would cut down armies for my children. I would sink whole armadas if I thought I could manage it. When we have children, when they are born, we make them a promise, whether we know it or not. We promise to love and protect them, to be there for them when they need us, and to put their well-being above our own; at least to an extent."

She poked his shoulder for emphasis. "And that is what you need to start doing, o son of my husband. Or else she'll think you're just like him." She wasn't saying these things to be cruel. But it seemed like what Theseus needed, more than anything, was a bit of a wakeup call.

"I made her a promise that I'm finding a hard time full-filling. She won't trust me until I do it." Promises were something that Poseidon and his linage seemed to have a hard time overcoming. But now he was more involved than ever. "I had to kill a child of mine once..." the wind cascaded against his face, "all because of a manipulative woman that couldn't tell me the truth. I've never gotten close to anyone again..." Theseus didn't expect Amphitrite to feel anything towards him. She could think he was just another monster like his father, but by showing his honesty he hoped it showed a difference.

"I don't want to be him." Her cruelty was needed. Words that were cruel, not actions. He needed someone to tell him what direction to take.